Bunking Down
by ex zombie
Summary: After Woodberry Daryl and Merle find themselves with plenty of things to hash out. Mostly talks occuring between the two brothers in the wee hours of the night. Give it a chance. Gonna try to stick to Cannon.
1. Chapter 1

_*******Hey all this is my story. Sometimes the deepest of thoughts work themselves out when you're going to sleep. Especially between brothers.*****_

**BUNKING DOWN**

* * *

**-BUNK MATES-**

"Ya sleepin'?" He asked his voice in a rough whisper.

"Yup." Daryl tried to keep the smirk out of his answer.

"No ya aint, ya whelp. Ya never sleep. I aint been gone so long to forget that." He laughed softly.

"Then why ya askin'?"

Merle was quiet for a while, his eyes staring at the bunk above him. "Was always _you_ askin' when we were kids." He said matter of factly, he lowered his voice a few octaves, "Merle, you up ? You up Merle?" He said imitating his brother when he had been younger. "Never let me get any goddamn sleep."

Daryl rolled to his side, "Well, ya coulda fuckin' answered then, instead of always pissin' off." He remembered all those nights too. Better'n Merle did, that's for damn sure. Laying in his bunk, eyes open, blanket over his head listening to one of two things….dead silence or lumbering footsteps. Never really knowing which one scared him more… Always knowing his goddamn brother was awake, but not payin' him any mind.

Merle laughed again softly, "Oooh Lordy Lord, you still got your panties in a bunch about havin' to grow up with ol' Merle don't ya Darylina?"

Daryl took a deep breath, and let it out slow. Why the fuck did his brother have to always bring shit up ? Always. There wasn't one goddamn minute that he could let silence go between them. It was a fucking wonder that he'd even put a second's worth of effort into bringing that yapping bastard back.

"Ya were a shit brother Merle." He said softly, "Now let me sleep."

Merle let out a long soundless whistle. "Now ya gotta sleep ? Spent the first what….fifteen years of ya life keeping my ass up, an now ya gotta sleep."

"It weren't no fifteen years." Daryl grumbled under his breath, "Ya left much sooner an….aw fuck." The minute those words were out he wished he could take them back. That goddamn bastard could bait him no matter what.

"Ahhhh, I gotcha, ya little whelp." Merle laughed. "Jesus, just as easy ta bait ya as it's always been. Some things never change."

"Ya, they fuckin' do Merle." He spit out. "Things change all the fuckin' time. And I got no interest in having some bullshit brother ta brother….bullshit."

Merle paused for a moment and shut his eyes. He readjusted that stump behind his head. Thing was uncomfortable as all hell, even for something as thoughtless as sleeping. Wasn't it just like fucking Daryl, he scoffed, always thinking everything was done to _him_. Shit wasn't always about _him_, goddamn it. Sometimes life just got a little bit more….complicated…then being just about _him_.

"Did ya ever _think_," he started, not giving a shit that Daryl didn't wanna listen…he wanted to talk. "…That maybe I had to get outa there too. That ever cross ya fuckin' mind baby brother."

"Fuck you." Daryl shut his eyes and pulled the blanket higher. He was not gonna do this with Merle.

"Ya think that bastard wasn't doin' the same shit ta me that he was doin' ta you?" he growled. "Ya think I didn't take enough beatings for you? For fuckin' ma?"

Daryl didn't say a word. He closed his eyes tighter, and held his breath. He felt that old familiar sense of hard, heavy, thick dread he felt almost every night as a kid. And like most nights, he fought to push it out of his head.

He wanted Merle to shut the fuck up. But his brother….he never stopped pushing, never stopped yapping.

"Well I did." Merle continued. "I took plenty of beatings baby brother…an I had a chance ta get out an I took it….can't fault me for that. Wasn't gonna take some shit job in that shit town an' try to raise ya. Real life aint no fuckin' feel good TV show." He kept rambling. "I wanted ta have my own life….away from… all that shit."

"Pfft, the army worked out real good fer ya." Daryl scoffed. "Got a real good life outta that one huh?"

Merle chuckled to himself. That had been a fucking disaster. He'd gone from taking orders from one son of a bitch right to another. And in the army, it seemed like they hated red neck, white trash even more than the rest of the world did. He'd spent three years being' referred to as a "white trash hillbilly piece of shit". Seemed his size and attitude was nuthin' they hadn't seen before and all they wanted to do was break him. Well, there was something they didn't know about Merle Dixon, he couldn't be broken.

If a drunken, abusive piece of shit father, and a dead mother, and a whaling baby brother couldn't break him, the goddamn army sure as hell wasn't gonna. He'd rather take his chances on the outside. Shit, he thought he'd be jumping outa planes, and running through the jungle shooting' chinks with an M16, not scrubbing toilets on his hands and knees. Could do that shit at home, for his brother…instead of twenty other assholes he didn't even know from nobody. Yeah, he could be doin' that shit for his brother he had thought….stead of leaving him home with that bastard.

And he had come back home. Daryl didn't seem to remember that. _Never_ remembered that.

"Came back didn't I?" He finally said.

Daryl grumbled something in the dark and rolled over again.

"Ya got somethin' to say Darylina?" Merle challenged, "ya can't always just keep ya mouth shut an' think everyone's gonna know what's goin' on in that thick head of yers."

Daryl shook his head in anger. He knew Merle, and he was pushing' buttons, and he wouldn't stop, just like he never stopped till he got what he goddamn wanted. Never mattered none to him what anyone else might ever want or fucking think.

"I got nuthin' ta say Merle…cept ya came home worst then ya were when ya left. Came back a goddamn crack head. Pissing the ol' man off even worse than he was before. Leaving ya fuckin' trash and ya whores all over the dammed house. Stuck me takin' care of everything….an I didn' need ta be doin' that…had enough of my own shit…."

"Oh," Merle cut him off. "Like I needed to be takin care of you, when you was born." He shook his head and whistled again. "You so in ya goddamn head, ya never think outside it. Ya think I needed …a baby brother when I was ten years old. Like I didn't have enough ta do? T'ween dodging' the old man's fist and ma being drunk all the time…was real nice to have a new baby round."

"Fuck you." Daryl mumbled.

"No," Merle hit the post on the side of the bed. "Fuck you."

They were silent, listening to the sounds of the prison. Someone's soft snores in the distance, the wind outside, and an echoing low moan….a constant trickle…Daryl called it "Chinese water torture." No matter how much they had looked they could not find the source. Those were their sounds now…they called it silence.

After a while Daryl could hear Merle's breath's even out and he thought he might have fallen asleep. Aint that like him he thought, just the same as always…get my ass riled up and then drift off like it were nuthin. Goddamn, why, the hell did he even bring him back.

He waited a few more minutes, fuck…he couldn't help himself. "Merle," he called out in a whisper, "Merle ya up?"

Merle, shook his head, and chuckled slightly. "Nope."

"Asshole." Daryl whispered, as he felt the bed shake softly from Merle's hushed laughter below him. "Didn't' know I fucked ya whole life up." He said quietly.

"Oh Jesus Christ Darylina, ya didn't fuck nuthin' up worst then it woulda been…jus' made it harder that's all." Merle grumbled. "Stop being such a goddamn pussy!"

"Pfft," Daryl scoffed, "aint no pussy…just sayin'…"

"Well," Merle rolled over and tried to do somethin' with that damn stump, "stop sayin' and start sleepin'. Keepin' my ass up."

Daryl shook his head and rolled over again. He was wide awake. Thinkin' about _all_ his life…every last bit… shit that would keep him up for hours, days, years. He regretted his damn stupid ass decision to bunk down in here with Merle.

Hadn't seen his brother in months…didn't mean he had to sleep with him.

But with Glenn and Rick…Jesus with hot heads on all sides it had seemed to be the safest way…the _only_ way. He wasn't gonna lock his own brother up again…no fucking way, no how, no matter what anyone said. Last time that shit cost Merle his hand…and in the end…that was the cause of all this shit, the cause of ALL of it. Ya lose your hand like that…there's no forgiving.

But shit, now…now he was up and Merle was here and his brain was thinking shit it hadn't thought in months, years even. Didn't need to be thinking _anymore_ about anything. As if the end of the fucking world wasn't enough to have on your mind.

Below him Merle rustled once again, and yawned. "Night brother." He rasped out softly.

"Night Merle," he said, his eyes wide open.

****_wanna see more...review...*****_


	2. Chapter 2

BUNK MATES NIGHT 2

"I'm gonna kill that mother fucker." Merle growled.

"Ya aint gonna kill no one, so keep it down." Daryl sighed, it was the second night. Things had gone from bad to worst. He knew Glenn would be pissed, and hell he should be, but Merle, goddamn, his brother lost his hand, his hand! And Rick…he wasn't exactly backing down either.

"That mother fucker took my hand brother….my hand!" He hit the side of the wall, and Daryl, knew everyone in the prison heard that one.

"Ya cut yer own hand off Merle," He said slowly, trying to reason, even though really, he knew it wouldn't work. "We came back for ya."

Merle hit the wall again. "Ya tryin' to say somethin' brother, why don't ya come out and say it!"

Daryl sat up and leaned over the side to look at Merle. "I'm not saying shit!" he answered, "Just sayin' we came back….you think I woulda left ya?"

"You be cuffed up there brother, flying like I was…all pumped up, chained to a goddamn pipe, Geeks looking' at you like you was there last supper….tell me what you'd be thinkin about." Truth was, he'd hardly been thinking at all, he'd been so jacked up, so iced'.

"Well why the fuck were ya _flyin'_ on a run like that Merle? Christ sake, what the hell did ya think was gonna happen?"

Merle raised his good hand and slammed it against the bottom of the bunk above him, giving Daryl a good solid jolt that reminded him off nearly every night of their childhood. "Didn't think I'de meet up with a mother fuckin prick cop who'de cut my goddamn hand off." He shouted.

"Goddamn it Merle," Daryl sat up and hung his legs off the side, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Ya cut yer own damn hand off. You did it all by yer damn self, cause ya couldn't wait one goddamn day fer me to come and git yer sorry impatient ass."

Merle reached out and smacked Daryl's feet hard, where they hung over the side. "Git your damn feet outta my face boy. Ten years of gettin them feet smacked didn't teach ya ta keep them outta my face."

Ouch, that shit hurt, Daryl had forgotten just how much. As a kid he barely ever had enough time to hang his feet off the side before jumpin off that merle had been hitting them, "Git yer feet outa my face!" he'd scream, and hit them hard. The day he moved out Daryl, moved to the bottom bunk, and he never hung his feet off anything ever again…till tonight.

"I'm gettin' tired of you hittin' on me brother." He said under his breath as he pushed himself off and landed quietly on the cement floor.

"What you say boy?" Merle asked coldly, rolling to his side so he could face him. "Ya got somethin to say, ya say it, loud an clear."

Daryl walked across the cell and sat on the floor, leaning his back up against the wall and pulling his knees up so he could rest his arms across them. He knew this arrangement wouldn't work. Hell it couldn't work. But what in the hell was he supposed to do. Merle was his brother, his brother! And these folks… they were his family, but damn, they weren't blood.

"I said," he looked across to Merle and fixed his eyes on his brother's without so much as a waiver. "That I'm tired of you hittin' on me. I aint a boy no more Merle, I'm tired of it."

Merle let out a long soundless whistle, followed by a raspy laugh. "Looks like ya grew a set huh baby brother….took the dead risin' an' the end of the fuckin' world, but ya finally grew a set huh?"

"Pfft," Daryl shook his head and rested against his arms. "Always had 'em."

"Always had 'em," Merle imitated, pulling his stump up and resting it behind his head. "Why don't ya fuckin' use 'em then? Tell that prick cop to pay his debt…an eye for an eye…"

"A hand for a hand ?" Daryl cut him off, finishing the statement for him. Sure, they grew up poor, but his mamma had always taken them both to church before she'd died. "Ya think, he's gonna cut his own goddamn hand off fer ya?"

"Nah," Merle sat up and leaned his back against the wall. "I can do it for him, him and the chink."

Daryl's head shot up off his arms, "Ya best leave Glenn out of it, he had nuthin' ta do with the chainin' and after what you done to him, I think he's more than paid his debt."

Merle held his stump up, and turned it slowly from side to side. "Ya think a black eye, and a couple a broken ribs is equal ta this baby brother? Now you're the one that's flyin' this here's permanent. Aint gonna heal….I aint gonna grow a new hand."

"Ya damn near killed him Merle." Daryl spat out. "That aint no black eye, an' a couple of broken ribs. Had plenty of those from you growing' up, and I didn't look none like that. Ya tried ta kill him, and ya threw a damn walker at him when he was tied, up. And he got out of it just like you did….only he kept his hand."

The second those words came out Daryl regretted them. He ducked his head down instinctively, almost expecting a blow. Sure he had balls, but Merle he was one tough son of a bitch, he could take on the world, one handed or no handed.

Merle narrowed his eyes into two slits. The steel grey turned cold and hard as hell, "I oughta beat you down boy," he hissed, "I wasn't taped with no goddamn duct tape to a chair. I was _chained_ to a pipe, with an army of fucking geeks comin to get me, not one, could handle one, not a dozen."

"That aint what I meant an' ya know it." Daryl said under his breath. "Ya beat him within' an inch of his life, ya threw a damn walker at him an' you were gonna rape his woman, I think his debt's been paid is all."

Merle snorted and shook his head. He tilted his head back and fixed his eyes on the bunk above him. "I didn't lay a finger on that girl."

Daryl shrugged. "I said almost." He mumbled. Fuck, another wrong move. If he didn't catch a beating from Merle on this one, he'd be surprised. This talking shit was harder than it looked, no wonder him and Merle had spent a life time settling their differences with their fists.

"I didn't _almost_ do nuthin to that girl, an I wouldn't neither. Ya make sure china man an' her pop know that, ya hear. I don't do that shit." He would do any number of things to any number of people. Hell, beatings and torture weren't beneath him, but the way he was raised, watching his ma go through what she did….he didn't touch women like that. Everyone had a line to draw somewhere and that was his.

Daryl nodded. He knew he shouldn't have said that, nothing worse than sitting in a cold dank cell and dredging up their shit childhood with Merle. His brother saw and heard shit Daryl never did, and he didn't want to hear about it neither, not now, not ever. His memories were bad enough as it was. He didn't need to know more.

"I'll make sure Rick knows too." He said bringing his thumb up to his mouth and working on the nail.

Merle smirked from across the room. "Don't give a shit what that prick thinks. He can think I'd rape his wife for all I care."

Daryl stared at him for a minute and lowered his head back down, resting his forehead on his arm and closing his eyes. That had been a hard day. A real hard day, they had lost Lori, and T-Dog…and he had almost lost Carol. Wasn't even gonna go back to remembering what that had felt like. Jesus he thought someone had reached into his chest and pulled his heart out. The pain had brought him to his knees.

"Yeah well," he said slowly, "too late for that, his wife is dead."

Merle nodded slowly. He thought he hadn't seen that skinny bitch around; then again, it had only been two days. "Good." He said slowly. "Good for him, prick deserves it."

Daryl snorted. Merle was the prick. "She didn't deserve nuthin', didn't do a thing to you. An' either way, neither did Carl or Judith ya fuckin' prick."

Jesus merle thought. Maybe his little brother had grown a pair but he was still a goddamn pussy. Always getting too dammed attached to everything, always attached to his goddamn dog or his goddamn blankie or his goddamn mamma.

"Who in the hell are Carl and Judith ?" he asked, even though really, he didn't give a shit, soon as they were all patched up they were gonna blaze a trail, outa this shit joint.

Daryl raised his head and rested his chin on his forearm. "Carl's her boy, 'member him from the quarry? Had ta put a bullet in her damn head, to keep her from turning", he whistled through his teeth. "Only twelve years old, had to do that to his own ma."

Merle nodded and rubbed at his stubble. Now, that was some grim shit for that boy he thought, Just about as grim as cuttin' your own hand off, without a doubt; not that he would ever admit it, but damn, having to plug your own mother. "Jesus," he rasped. "Boy's a badass."

Daryl shrugged. "He is now."

"Who the fuck's Judith then?" Merle asked.

Daryl was getting tired. All this talking, all this stress and worry, always having to guard against Rick, guard against Merle. Never mind what his body was going through. Talk about being beat within an inch of your life. He was pretty damn near that himself. And then having to leave the perch to stay in this dammed cell with Merle. There was no goddamn way he was gonna let Rick lock his brother up again, to anything or anywhere. There was no way, no how. Even if it meant giving up his perch and bunking down in a cell like a couple twelve year olds there was no way.

"Judith's her baby girl." He yawned.

"That so," Merle punched at his pillow a few times, before lying back down against it. All this yapping was making him tired too. "Officer friendly was keepin himself busy huh?"

"Nah," Daryl snorted, "his wife Lori…she was gettin' busy with that prick Shane, member that prick from the quarry?" he asked. And just like that they were brothers again.

"Git the fuck outa here?" Merle laughed, "That stocky son of a bitch was bangin' friendly's wife. Ya gotta be shittin' me." Damn merle thought, if it aint like a woman to wanna screw around on her man during a goddamn apocalypse.

Daryl pulled himself up off the floor; he wasn't one for gossip, or talking for that matter. But at this point, anything to keep Merle from blowing up. "I mean, she thought he was dead," he mumbled as he walked to the bed, "but still…."

"Damn women," Merle chuckled. "So the kid…."

Daryl walked to the edge of the bed and hoisted himself up and over. "Ah…. don't know nuthin' about the kid other than she's cuter than hell."

"Jesus," Merle whistled, "cuter 'an hell huh? Ya goin' soft."

"Nah," Daryl laid down and stared hard at the ceiling. He was anything but soft. "She's cuter than hell an' a survivor too. Ya know farmer's daughter had ta cut her outa her momma's belly just like that. No medicine or nuthin'. That's how Laurie died…bled out, an then Carl shot her right then an' there."

"Jesus Christ," Merle muttered. He had seen some bad shit go down, that's for sure but this just sounded grisly. "Damn house of horrors here. Aint that ol' man a vet or somethin?"

Daryl yawned again. "We was all separated. Walkers everywhere."

"Damn," Merle muttered rolling onto his side. Guess his little brother had it rough. Wasn't only him faced some hard times. Seemed like they both had there share of stories to tell. "Seems like that prick officer friendly went through some hard times."

"Yup." Daryl rolled over and tucked his hand under his pillow. "Aint only you, been sufferin' we all have."

"Hard times…" Merle muttered letting out a long slow breath, "but I'm still gonna make him pay."

"Yeah well," Daryl said sleepily, "as long as it aint tonight I'm gonna go ta sleep."

Below him merle chuckled and shut his eyes. "Night brother."


	3. Chapter 3

_Another chapter. Thank you to all that have reviewed...there's nothing better, and it only takes a minute so please...also, I do love to write these brothers, and if anyone has any ideas about what they want to hear them talk about...i'm all ears and I take requests.._

The Mouse

"So what's goin' on with you a that woman?"

He had known all along that this shit was coming, and he was surprised that it had taken as long as it had. "Aint nuthin, goin' on." He answered.

"Bullshit." Merle answered with a laugh. "Ya tappin' that?"

Daryl rolled onto his side. Christ his brother was annoying. "I said there aint nuthin goin on."

"An I said bullshit brother. I see the way she touches you, why yer as fuckin skittish as a fox, there aint no way, that woman's laying a hand on ya unless there's somethin goin on so spit it out."

Damn his little brother thinking he could keep things from him. Christ sake the boy was as easy to read as the day he was born. Ever since they got back, that woman's been looking at him; an he's been lookin away. Wouldn't meet her eyes not even once. And if that wasn't sign enough, she just come right up to him and rested her hand on his arm, boy didn't even flinch.

Daryl took a deep breath and let it out slow, damn observant fuck. "Aint nobody touchin' nobody, so let it go."

"Aint nobody touchin' nobody" he mimicked from down below, "I just hope she's touchin' more than yer arm brother….calm ya down a bit."

"Fuck you Merle." Daryl punched his pillow a few times, before resting his head on it. "Just go ta fuckin' sleep."

Merle let it go for a couple of minutes. Waited until he could hear Daryl's breath just start to level out, years of sharing, a room with that boy taught him the exact moment that he was about to fall off.

"If ya aint tappin' her then….mind if I give it a go?" He asked with a wry grin on his face.

Two seconds of shuffling and then Daryl's head was hanging over the edge glaring at him. "Ya stay the fuck away from Carol ya got that!"

"Goddman baby brother," Merle laughed, "aint it just as easy to rile ya up as it's always been. Feels like there's been no time lost 'tween us at all."

"Yeah well," Daryl grumbled, narrowing his eyes. "There has been."

"Oh boy, oh boy Darylina's holdin' a grudge. What I do now? Come on let me have it." Merle chuckled. Damn if it wasn't just the easiest thing on earth to push his brother's buttons he didn't know what was.

"I'm just tired of you getting' after me for everythin'. Christ sake Merle I'm damn near 40, cant ya just let me be." Daryl huffed.

"Fuck boy," Merle grumbled "all I did was ask if ya were fuckin' that broad….aint no federal offence."

"An I said no….so leave it be." Daryl snapped.

"Well'n if ya aint…." Merle continued.

"Just cause I aint, don't mean you can neither Merle. Fuck!" Daryl whispered, pulling himself off the bed, careful to not let his feet dangle out below him, and landing quietly on the cold hard floor.

"Damn," Merle muttered, "got yer ass outa bed fer this one….must be serious."

"Hate those dammed beds," Daryl shrugged sitting down across the cell and resting his back against the wall. "Makes me feel like we was back at home."

"Aint that the truth," Merle breathed. "Fuckin' end of the world and aint I sleepin in a bunk bed, with my baby brother back on top jus' like we was kids again."

"Fuck," Daryl breathed. "Don't even know what's worst, then or now."

"Well hell, baby brother, aint you grim all of a sudden."

"Truth aint it." Daryl shrugged.

"Well then lemmee think," Merle snickered, "I'd say I'm worst off now brother, cause the bed's, in a damn cell."

"Shit," Daryl laughed, "ya spent half yer life tryin' ta stay outa places like this….and now."

"Ahhhh," Merle shook his head, "Now I'm fightin' to keep myself in."

"This end of the world crap." Daryl smirked pulling his knees up and resting his arms across them, "flipped everythin' around."

"No shit," Merle laughed, "No shit baby brother, look at us Dixons, aint worth shit in the old world and now….hell if we aint somethin' special."

"Didn't nobody know how ta hunt, or live off the land or nuthin'" Daryl continued softly.

Merle looked across at him. "Didn't nobody know how to suffer. An how ta survive."

"Amen, ta that brother," Daryl nodded, "us Dixon's got the market on that."

Merle lay silent for a moment before rolling onto his side. "Fuck," he mumbled shifting around, "Can't even rest my head in my hand with this goddamn stump, don't I wish that prick had chained up my left hand."

"Or none at all." Daryl breathed.

It was one whole thing to have to cut your hand off and survive during a goddamn apocalypse with just one hand, but to have it be your left hand to boot. To have to re-learn everything, not only doing it one handed, but having to do it one handed, wrong handed. Damn if his brother wasn't the toughest son of a bitch on earth.

"Fuckin hell," Merle snorted, "aint that the truth."

Merle shifted again, and then giving up, sat up and shoved the pillow behind him so he could rest his back against the wall. It had been a long time since him and Daryl had sat up in bunks talking. That was the one good thing about being in this dammed shit prison. Just about the only thing.

"So," he started, dredging up the thing that started this whole talk up. "ya aint tappin' the mouse, but I gotta lay off. Wanna explain that one."

Daryl ran a hand across his neck. "Ya aint gonna drop it huh, even with all this talk bout us bein' kids an the apocalypse an all ?"

"Nah," Merle laughed, "but it was a good try brother."

Sometimes, some very rare and far between times it felt so damn good to have his brother back. "Uh, I jus' don't want ya botherin' her that's all. She's been through enough."

"Aint we all." Merle thought back, he remembered that woman somewhat, at least he thought it was her. She'd been a hell of a lot more sour and dumpy back at the quarry had some jack ass smack happy husband with her, and sweet little thing of a daughter too. "She had a family with her didn' she?"

Daryl nodded, "Husband got ate, the night we was coming back from looking fer yer ass in Atlanta. Not that it mattered; guy was a son of a bitch."

Merle nodded once, so the husband was outa the way. "What about the kid?"

Daryl turned his head and looked through the bars of the prison. "Kid got lost, got scared by walkers and ran off into the woods."

"Hell," Merle huffed, "and ya couldn't find her?"

Daryl hung his head in between his arms. "Nope." Not being able to find Sophia had been his biggest failure, even bigger than losing Merle. He hadn't ever once for a second believed that he wouldn't find her. Hell, she was a little girl, in a stretch of Georgia woods by the side of the damn road. He was on her ass damn near instant. He'd been so sure, filled that woman with so much hope. Filled everyone with so much hope.

"Did ya even look?" Merle asked incredulous, his brother could track anything, no matter how small. How could he not find a damn kid stumbling through the woods?

"Yeah I looked," Daryl almost shouted, "almost got myself killed lookin' fer that kid." He stopped for a moment and looked across at his brother, "found her too late, she'd already turned. Carol got ta watch us put a bullet in her head. Aint that nice."

Merle let out a long soundless whistle. "No wonder she looks so damn tough. That woman had to grow herself a second skin."

Daryl nodded; sometimes he thought there wasn't an ounce of the old Carol left inside of her. All of the fear and helplessness had disappeared, but the care and easy gentleness had stayed behind. And he knew without a doubt that she would never lose that.

"Well," Merle yawned, grabbing at his pillow and throwing it towards the end of his bunk so he could lay back down. "Somethin's goin' on between the two of ya, that's easy ta see. Woulda thought by now, end of the world an' all, ya woulda thought it was about time ta get yer dick wet."

"Christ Merle," Daryl huffed, "now aint the time ta be thinkin' about that shit."

Merle laughed, "It aint ever been the right time fer you brother. Maybe getting a little piece of tail would help ya out, help ya wind down a bit."

"Don't need no help windin' down Merle," Daryl snorted, "Case ya haven't noticed there's a whole world full a dead fucks out there tryin' to eat us…think I got a bit of cause ta be jumpy."

"Oh I noticed alright," Merle answered lying on his back and tucking his arms behind his head, "didn't keep me from getting' some pussy's all I'm sayin."

"Aint nuthin ever kept ya from that." Daryl muttered, as he pushed himself up and headed towards the bed hoisting himself up and over.

Merle laughed softly again, Christ when it came to women; his little brother was the world's biggest pussy. Why if he hadn't seen him with his own eyes goin at it once or twice, he'd be thinking he was still a virgin for all the interest he ever showed in getting' laid.

"Clear as day ya want in her pants, an' she's definitely wantin' in yers." Merle continued.

"I'm goin' ta sleep Merle." Daryl said, dammed his brother and his big mouth. He didn't understand anything, about anything that had to do with him and Carol.

"Should get up right now, an go to her boy,don't need ta be baby sittin me no more" Merle added, "I'll play nice, if it'll get ya laid brother."

Daryl rolled over. "Night Merle." He huffed out slowly.

"Go get yerself some lovin', give her the ol' Dixon midnight surprise." Merle chuckled.

"I'm sleepin'." Daryl said, suppressing a smile.

"Fuckin' pussy." Merle growled softly, smiling in the dark, yeah he thought, findin' his brother had turned out alright.


	4. Chapter 4

_This is taken from last night's episode. Kind of what I hope will happen shortly after. I know alot of people hate Merle, but I think he's got something in him thats wothwhile. Here's to my hope for the brothers._

_PS- If ya like it at all, please review...it actually really means a lot to me._

**The choice**

He could feel the bed shaking with Merles muffled laughter below him, and despite his better judgment, he asked. "Watcha laughin' at now brother?" Stupid jackass laughed at every dam thing.

"Was just thinkin' about you the other day tha's all." Merle replied, still laughing under his breath.

"What I do now?" Daryl grumbled.

"You was just funny tha's all baby brother. Bein' all tough 'No Merle no me' to that prick out there on the side of the road." Merle shut his eyes and ran a hand over his face, there had been no other option really, they were blood.

"What's so funny 'bout that?" Daryl rolled to his side. That had been a hard choice, a _hard_ choice. Fuck he knew Merle was blood, but he wasn't no picnic neither, and while he and the group had grown close _like_ a family, Merle…he was the real thing. "I guess me chosin you, that's the only funny part."

"Damn little brother, we aint two minutes into this an' you're already in a huff." Merle shook his head, the thing about Daryl was, he was just a little pissed off bitch about ninety percent of the time.

"Well'n stop laughin like a damn fool, I made my choice didn't I, and I didn't fucking hesitate neither." There was no way, he was gonna get into this with Merle right now, no way.

"Yeah well," Merle sighed, "….lookit where we are brother."

"Fuck you." Daryl snorted.

Merle let out a long soundless whistle, and started chuckling again, "I'm just sayin' you lasted what, 'bout a day, maybe even less before ya started whining, " he lowered his voice a couple of octaves, and thickend his drawl to imitate Daryl, "I'm tired, I'm hungry….I wanna go home. Christ almighty made me think you was twelve again."

"Fuck you." Daryl repeated coldly. Fucking asshole brother. Spent his whole fucking life trying to grow up from under him and when he finally did, Merle had to yank him back down.

"That all you can think of to say Darylina?" Merle rasped.

Daryl shook his head in the bunk above him. "What else ya want me ta say asshole. Ya think we was gonna have a better go of it alone out there ? No food, no shelter, no nuthin? And aint I here, in a cell in a goddamn bunk with ya brother?"

"Lordy Lord Daryl, you've gotten more bitchy than ya ever have been travellin' with this group. Can't even have a two minute conversation with ya, without ya getting' yer panties all up in a bunch." Now Daryl had always been the more uptight one in the family, Merle thought, but this was damn near ridiculous.

Daryl shuffled above him, then hung his head over the side. "Yer actin' like I didn't make the right choice. They know we're a package deal. We aint gonna be separated, and I aint lettin' my group down neither. I couldn't do no better than this."

Merle threw his blanket off and sat up in the bunk. "Aint lettin' yer group down?" He asked in disbelief. "How about them lettin' you down? How about them kickin' ya to the curb like a fucking dog the minute ya wanna do somethin' they don't agree with….like lettin' yer own brother join up."

"Pfft," Daryl smirked, "Like yer own group was better, threw down a welcome mat for me didn' they."

Merle was silent for a moment, and Daryl wondered if he had pissed him off. He was tired, bone ass tired and he really couldn't even think about liftin' an arm to be punchin' nobody, not even Merle.

Below him the bed shook again, and this time he heard Merle slam his hand against the post too. "Yer dammed right baby brother; you didn't get no welcome neither."

That goddamn ,crazy, fuck the Governor, Merle thought, tryin' to pull some Thunderdome crap with the Dixons. Stupid prick, how could he even think he would kill his own brother. Fuck's sake, hadn't he spent the best part of the year lookin' for him.

"Fuck," Daryl sighed. "I didn't think I was gonna make it outa that one."

Merle hoisted himself up and stood, resting his arms on the side of Daryl's bunk. His eyes narrowed and fixed on Daryl's, and even in the pure dark of the prison, he could make his brother out. He hadn't seen him look that scared in years. Hadn't seen him cry, in god knows how long. When that hood came off, it had damn near broke his heart.

"Yeah," Merle sighed, "ya looked pretty fuckin' scared."

Daryl rolled to his back and stared up at the ceiling, he couldn't bear to let his brother stare at him like that. "I was," he said swallowing hard. "I thought you was gonna fucking kill me, or die tryin'"

Merle rubbed his good hand over his head. Well, he thought to himself, aint that a true testament to what a shit brother I've been. "Did ya," he asked softly, his stump still resting on the bed "did ya really think I would do that."

Daryl leaned his head back and shut his eyes. He had thought that. _He had fucking thought that_. I mean it had been so crazy, so unreal, to be dragged through a wild screaming crowd, tied up like a goddamn prisoner. All he could hear was chantin' and screamin', more voices than he had heard in over a year. And then he heard his brother's name, Merle Dixon. And just like that he had been filled with hope and a crippling dread.

Fuck, when that fucking hood had come off, and he had taken in what was around him, he had almost pissed his pants. The lights, and the crowd, and that crazy one eyed fuck. And Merle, Merle lookin' better than he had in years. His brother, eyes narrowed and standin' dead calm, not seized by panic like he was. Yeah, he had thought Merle was gonna kill him.

He clenched his jaw, and ground his teeth together, a trick he learned when he was a kid to keep from crying. "Yah," he whispered, "I did."

Merle's hand came down hard on the mattress, and Daryl flinched . "Goddamn it boy," Merle exclaimed, "how could ya think that?" He pushed himself back, and stared, across at his brother. "How could ya? I mean we both done what we had to do to survive this… but…ya thought I was gonna 'fight ya to the death'?" He raised his voice, "Fucking kill you…. I would sooner kill myself"

Daryl's eyes flitted across to Merle's in the darkness. They looked at each other, before he nodded briefly and clenched down hard on his jaw again. That's about as deep as it was _ever_ gonna get between them. And it was already way too deep for him.

"Hey," Merle leaned in forward against the bed again, "You listen to me boy, and you listen good. Me an' you we're gonna fight, 'specially now with this group of yers. But we gotta remember, in the end, we're brothers… we're all we got left."

When Merle had finally leaned in and whispered through clenched teeth for him to play along, it had felt like everything inside him had just freed up. He might die there fightin' besides his brother, and that didn't bother him at all, as long as he was fightin' _besides_ him and not against him.

"Hey," Merle continued, "look at me," he leaned forward and Daryl turned to face him. Merle narrowed his eyes and smiled reaching over and setting his hand behind Daryl's neck, he pulled him close, their faces almost touching, a move he had not done in over twenty years. A move he used to do, to calm his younger brother during the hardest of nights, when his panic had seized him and wouldn't let him go.

"We're back together again brother," he whispered holding onto Daryl, "and this time nuthin', an' I mean nuthin's gonna pull us apart."

_Let's hope its true..You like it, give me a buzz...(that would be my cell phone on vibrate when I get a review ;)_


	5. Chapter 5

_Well we found out a little bit more about the brothers' past. Here's to hoping that there is indeed a bit of good burried inside of Merle. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think._

**THE PAST**

"Brother ya up?" The raspy voice came from below him almost in a whisper, but he didn't answer. He had done enough talking to his brother, enough to last him a fucking life time. "I know yer up." He said again.

"Well I aint," Daryl answered sharply before rolling to his side. "So shut it."

There was a long pause below him, punctuated only by two long drawn out breaths. "I never knew he was beatin' on you like that." Merle finally said.

Daryl shut his eyes tightly. He fucking knew. Of course he knew. His old man had spent the first half of his life beatin' on Merle; of course he knew what it was like.

Merle let out a long slow breath, and shook his head. "Thought it was only me he fuckin' hated."

"Yeah well," Daryl grumbled from below him. "You were fuckin' wrong weren't ya?"

Merle fixed his eyes on the bunk above him. Hell, the old man had beaten the shit out of him his entire life. Christ, his back made Daryl's look like a fucking picnic. But Daryl, He'd never fought back, or mouthed off or even said a goddamn word around the house. Daryl was always head down, and fingers in his mouth, shuffling' off to his room. He hadn't been a loud mouth son of a bitch like he had. What reason could the ol' man have possibly had?

"Ya got to believe me brother." He rasped out again. "I had no idea."

"It don't make no fuckin' difference now." Daryl answered from above. "I don't care no more."

Merle snorted and shook his head. "Well I care Goddamn it!" he shouted. "I care!"

"Well ya can care all ya want then." Daryl said softly.

Merle shut his eyes and thought back on what it had been like. Fifteen years of pent up rage. Fifteen years of fear, and pain, and grief. Every day, wondering if he was gonna get a beating, and how bad it was gonna be. How the fuck could he have left Daryl behind in that hell. He hadn't thought twice about it. Hadn't even considered what the old man would do to his brother once he left.

"I shouldn't have left ya behind." Merle sighed. "I fucked up."

Daryl shook his head, "I aint doin' this with ya Merle. Aint goin' down this road with ya."

Merle sat up in the bed below him, and stuffed the pillow behind his back. "You was so different when I came back." He said absently, "It was like I didn't even know you no more. You was so quiet, always by yourself. Never had any friends around, no women…."

Daryl clenched his teeth together, "shut up Merle."

"Ya never said a word," Merle continued. "Never said a goddamn word to me."

"What was I supposed ta say huh?" Daryl slammed his hand against the wall, and sat up in his bunk. "I was just a kid when ya left Merle, and I didn't have no one! Mom was gone and you was gone, and that bastard was all I had left."

"Ya shoulda told me." Merle whispered.

Daryl jumped off and landed softly on the pads of his feet. "Ya should have known all on yer own, ya stupid fuck. What did ya think was gonna happen, He beat the shit out of mom, and he beat the shit outa you…what the hell did ya think was gonna happen to me?" He asked reaching the far wall and leaning against it.

"I wasn't thinkin'" Merle, shrugged.

"No," Daryl hissed, "ya weren't thinkin, and ya weren't thinkin' when ya came back neither, were ya, cause you were too stoned or too iced to give a shit. And ya weren't thinkin' when ya went on the run to Atlanta, and ya sure as shit weren't thinkin' when ya cut yer own fuckin' hand off."

Merle leaned over and pushed himself up off the bunk, crossing over to where Daryl was standing. "Hey now little brother ease off." He warned.

"Ya know what happens when ya don't fuckin' think," Daryl continued through narrowed eyes and gritted teeth, "This happens," he reached out and took hold off Merles arm right above the stump, "and this," he turned around and showed him his back. "Only difference is, ya did it to yerself, and I didn't have much choice in the matter."

Merles eyes narrowed, and he pressed his stump against Daryl's shoulder. "Ya think I had much choice in this?" he growled.

"Ya did it to yerself !" Daryl countered, smacking the stump off. "I came back for ya brother."

Merle leaned forward, and fixed his eyes on his brothers. "And, I came back for you too.

"Fuck you." Daryl said shaking his head. "You came back home for yerself, and no one else. Didn't, try to make things better for me, didn't try to make things better for Pop. Didn't try to help out at all."

"Make things better for Pop?" Merle asked incredulous, "I hated that son of a bitch till the day he died. I'm only sorry I wasn't there to watch him suffer."

"Yeah, well I was…" Daryl mumbled his eyes on the ground between them; Merle was standing too close, his brother always stood too goddamn close to him. "And it didn't make anythin' any better…"

Merle shut his eyes and shook his head, where had he been for that? Couldn't even remember, jail or high, or strung out somewhere, when his dad had been diagnosed with emphysema, stage four. Daryl road out his last days with him…alone. He fuckin' let him down for that too.

"Shit brother," he rasped, "I'm sorry for that too."

Daryl brushed past him and walked over to the bunks, leaning his arms against the top mattress he leaned forward and rested his forehead against his knuckles. "Yer always sorry…for fucking everything, but ya never change….never stop tryin' to fuck things up."

Merle turned and leaned his shoulders against, the cold cement wall. He let out a long low whistle. "Hell, what I do now brother?"

Daryl scratched at his eyebrow with his thumb. "It aint enough that ya set up with that crazy son of a bitch….."

"He fucking saved me brother. Found me on the side off the road, damn near bled out."

"Ya in that fucking arena….with that crazy…." He shook his head.

"Hey now brother," Merle nodded, "I did what I had ta do to survive in this new world. I never stopped lookin for ya…never"

"Fuck Merle," Daryl spun around, "when ya found me, ya damn near killed me!"

"Bullshit brother!" Merle closed the distance between them, and put his finger up to Daryl's face, "I saved yer ass and yer group too."

"Ya made me leave them." Daryl said between gritted teeth.

"Now," Merle rasped, "That was your own damn choice, don't you go blamin' me."

"I had no choice!" Daryl wacked Merle's hand out of his face. "Don't ya see, ya never leave anyone any fucking choice!"

Merle took a deep breath and let it out slow. "Are ya tellin' me ya want me to go brother? That it?"

"Christ sake Merle," Daryl laughed and hoisted himself onto the top bunk. "I'm tellin' ya to stop bein' an asshole. You were an asshole yer whole fuckin' life. I think ya put in yer time with that. Just…let up."

Merle snorted and shook his head, "Well, alright brother." He nodded slowly, and cracked a grin, "I can certainly try somethin new for a bit."

Daryl turned to face him. This was his brother, his no good, piece of shit brother, and they'd been torn apart for more reasons than he could count. But that morning in the woods, that had been the first time he had turned his back on Merle. The first time he had walked away, and the entire time he'd been hoping with everything he had inside him that his brother would follow.

He hadn't expected to hear those footsteps behind him, and he had damn sure never expected to see the tears in his brothers eyes. But when he felt that heavy arm sling around his neck, it damn near almost erased a lifetime of hurt.

Merle pushed himself off the wall and walked over to the bunk. He wasn't gonna get deep about it, but goddamn he had to let Daryl know. Christ when he saw his back today, every fucking thing he had ever wondered about his brother had suddenly made sense. And every fucking thing he had ever done to screw him over suddenly had become crystal fucking clear.

"Hey brother," he whispered leaning his elbow on Daryl's mattress and holding his hand open, watching as Daryl shifted uncomfortably before grasping it with his own. "For what it's worth…I'm sorry."

Daryl nodded once, and pulled his hand away. "Night brother." He mumbled.

"G'night." Merle answered, sliding into his bunk and folding his stumped arm behind his head. Damn if he hadn't fucked this life up he thought, staring into the darkened cell, and it took the goddamn dead rising for him to even notice.


	6. Chapter 6

_Sorry for the slow updates but I was away. Thanks so much to all of you who have been reviewing...and enjoying. Y'all wanted something lighter...here it is. Maybe a little bit of brother fluff. The deer story BTW is true, only it was in the trunk of a Buick, imagine that ? Yep, I was one of the dumb college students...quite a night !_

_Hey, if ya like it...send me a line._

**GOOD TIMES**

They had been at the prison for a couple of weeks now. Place was hell but they were intent on keeping it. Merle just couldn't understand. Couldn't understand why Daryl had been so hell bent on getting' back there to begin with. Could tell a mile away he was crazy about that baby, little thing had his baby brother wrapped around her finger. Merle never even got near that thing. Last thing he needed to do was get soft around a kid. Then there was that mousy thing…. Daryl trailed after her like a dammed puppy dog, but never said more than two words to her. Strange creature, his baby brother.

"So," he started breaking the silence. "You puttin' the wood to that woman yet." He didn't hear a word from the bunk above him, but Daryl hadn't been smooth enough to keep the slight hitch out of his breath.

"I know yer up brother," he laughed lightly. "Can't fool ol' Merle."

In the bunk above him Daryl kept his eyes trained on the ceiling. They'd already talked about Carol once for Christ sake, hadn't that been enough. Hell he'd been ignorin' the shit out of her since he got back…apparently not enough to throw Merle.

"I'm sleeping." He answered quietly.

"Ahhh" Merle chuckled softly. "See, I knew ya weren't…years of trainin' baby brother…I can always tell."

"That's bullshit…." Daryl mumbled, "How d'you know ya didn't just wake my ass up."

Merle let out a long breath, "don't make much difference now does it…yer up and I'm askin' you a question…ya fuckin' that bitch or ain't ya ?"

Daryl snorted, "She ain't a bitch." He regretted that statement the minute he made it. What the hell was he thinking? That was just live bait to Merle.

"Christ sake ya little pussy," Merle taunted. "How's about…are you fucking that _woman..._or even better, hold on Darylina, How's about have you _made_ _love_ to that _woman_ yet ? Christ almighty."

Daryl groaned. "Just shut up Merle. We already had this conversation."

"Yeah," Merle sighed. "Guess that's true. Yer dick's still dry then, huh?"

Above him the bed rustled for a second or two before Daryl's head hung off the side. "Ya know brother," he snapped. "I'm getting' pretty tired of these nighttime inquisitions…."

"Inquisition," Merle repeated slowly with a nod of his head. "using big words now..…maybe I was wrong, maybe ya are getting' some."

"Oh fuck you, you stupid redneck prick." Daryl snapped, his head still hanging over, as he glared at his brother in the dark. "Any of them words big enough for you?"

Merle reached up and smacked him across the forehead with the palm of his hand, "No, they ain't numb-nuts, and ya still ain't answered the question."

"Get off," Daryl reached out and smacked at Merle in retaliation. No matter how old he was Merle still treated him like he was a kid, like they was back at home, back in their bunks and it pissed him off. "Stop treatin' me like I'm a kid Merle…" he huffed as he pulled himself back up. "I didn't like it then and I sure as hell don't like it now."

"Well, well, well" Merle started, with a smile. "Look who's all grown up and ready to be a man." The way he thought, if his little brother wanted to be treated as a man, first thing he ought to do is stop acting like a damn little bitch. Getting, his panties all up in a bunch any time anyone asked him a question. And maybe the next thing would be to stop trailing' around that woman like a damn boy, and man up.

Fucking Merle was annoying as hell ,Daryl thought, and one thing was for sure, he never changed. "I been a man for a long time." He muttered under his breath. "You were just too busy being' iced…or just too plain stupid to tell."

Below him Merle let out a long soundless whistle, "Lordy lord we gonna go back round to that again? Christ sake Daryl when ya gonna let that one go huh? Yes, I was iced….I'm clean now. Sorry it took so damn long…sorry I didn't see ya turn into a fine young man; sorry yer just too much of a little bitch to let it drop."

Above him the bed rustled hard then Daryl's feet hung over the side, for less than a second before he pushed himself off, landing softly on the cold cell floor. He spun quickly and leaned into the bunk, his finger out in his brother's face. "I ain't a little bitch," he spat out, "ya better watch yer mouth."

Merle pushed himself up and snatched Daryl's hand in an iron grip. "You better watch _your_ mouth boy." He said coldly. "And get that finger, outta my face 'fore I snap it off."

Daryl's eyes narrowed and he pushed himself further into the bunk. This was a standoff and he wasn't gonna pussy out. "I'd like ta see you try old man." He said through gritted teeth.

Merle scowled and tightened his grip on his brother's hand. His finger was still out and he could snap it broke in a second, but hell, it was well into the night and he didn't feel like goin' through with the whooping' that a move like that would bring forth. Hell, Daryl was his little brother, but they would both catch a few good hits for sure if it came down to blows. He thought best to diffuse the little prick and be done.

"Maybe I'll bite the damn thing off." He snarled loosening his grip just enough to let Daryl wrench free.

"Hell no!" Daryl screamed pulling away and jumping back. "Ya ain't doin' that to me again ya crazy fuck."

Merle laughed out loud and sat up in his bunk throwing his feet over the side. "Still remember that huh?" he asked.

"Still remember?" Daryl asked incredulous, as he leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the cell. "Ya almost took my finger off!"

"Fuck," Merle laughed again, running his good hand over his short hair, "we were so drunk little brother, 'member that night?"

Daryl smirked and slid down the wall till he was sitting on the cold cell floor, knees up, arms resting on them. "Barely," he smiled shaking his head. "We were out somewhere, some party…."

"Out at Cindy Gainer's, way out in the sticks," Merle laughed. "Hell, you were so drunk baby brother, don't think I'd ever seen ya like that. 'Member ya rode out ta help some college kids who ran into a deer…"

Daryl ducked his head low, between his arms and laughed. Hell, he'd never forget that night. "Christ I was so drunk, couldn't even tell that thing was still alive…just threw it in the back of the truck, thinkin' venison the whole time…"

Merle was laughing hard now too, "wish I coulda been there to see the look on yer face when that thing came to…."

"Fuck," Daryl chocked out in between laughs, "thing nearly gave me a heart attack. Came to, half way back to the house. Damn near killed us getting' itself outta the truck."

"And damn near totaled my truck…." Merle finished off.

"That's what started the fight…" Daryl added, still chuckling, "Remember?"

"Hell yeah, I remember…I was so dammed pissed off at ya. Haulin' off drunk like that, an' throwin' a live deer in the back…hell, _you_ of all people." Merle shook his head remembering when Daryl had pulled back up to the house, the door of his truck flyin' open and his brother stumbling out, laughing so hard he could barely walk. Back of his truck had been trashed, blood and piss, and matted up fur…scratched and dented to shit. Daryl'd been laughing so hard his dumb ass friend had to tell him what had happened and Merle just couldn't believe it. Daryl of all people misjudging an animal like that. Coulda gotten himself killed, never mind what he did to the truck.

"Next thing I knew," Daryl rested his chin, on his arms, "you were on top of me and we were tussling like it was nobody's business."

"And then," Merle added with a nod, "you jammed yer finger in my mouth and tried to rip my dammed face apart."

"Fuck," Daryl shook his head and rested his forehead against his forearm; guess he had forgotten that part. "Maybe I deserved that bite then huh?"

"Well…." Merle shrugged, "trashed my truck and tried to rip my face off...I suppose ya did. Maybe I didn't have ta bite ya so dammed hard." He added, "But you were pretty far gone by that point."

"Christ, I was a little shit huh?" Daryl sighed, shutting his eyes. Seemed like more and more, having his brother back was showing him, that maybe the lines weren't as clear as he'd always remembered them.

"Still are," Merle said, and both brothers laughed for a bit. It was hard remembering life the way it used to be, the way things were, good times before the world went to shit. Fuck, they thought they had worries then, a beat up truck, and a few stitches…hell.

They both fell silent for a bit.

"Were ya fuckin that Cindy?" Merle asked suddenly.

Daryl, opened his eyes and nodded, "Yep."

"I knew it." Merle nodded, "she was a _fine_ piece of ass."

"Sure was." Daryl agreed with a nod. She'd been pretty as an Angel, looked a bit like Beth actually, big blue eyes and sweeter than anything out there. Still didn't know why he'd dropped her so fast. Even back then, seemed he'd had a hard time lettin' them get close.

"And this Carol?" Merle asked again, his eyes narrowing as he fixed them on his brother.

Daryl looked up at him for a second. They were brothers, a whole lifetime spent together. "Nope." He answered softly.

"Ya got somethin' for her ?" Merle asked. Christ, they hadn't had this type of talk since….since forever. But maybe thinking about old times, thinking about all that they had lost, had made them realize just how stupid it was to be pushing each other apart. Or, maybe they were just too tired to care anymore.

"I don't know." Daryl shrugged. "It's the end of the world…what's the point."

Merle stretched his back, then lay back down, folding his arms behind his head. True, things were pretty grim out there, and he'd never seen Daryl with a steady woman…even during the best of times. "Don't seem like there's ever been much of a point in that for you." He said steadily, his eyes on the bunk above him.

Daryl shrugged again. "Don't know." He mumbled.

"Might make this hell a little more bearable…" Merle said slowly, "ya know havin' a woman by yer side, Getting a piece of ass now and again."

Daryl pushed himself up off the ground. They both knew he'd added that last piece in to save this talk from becoming the type of talk that Dixons just didn't have.

"I don't know," He said as he hoisted himself up and into the bed. "Ya think?" Daryl honestly didn't know if starting something with Carol was even going to be worth the trouble.

Merle laughed steadily from the bunk below him. "Hell brother, a little bit of pussy makes everything better."

Daryl rolled onto his side and tucked his arm under the pillow. "She's a real good friend to me." He said slowly. "Wouldn't wanna screw it up." Carol was his best friend, there was no other way around it, and the rules with that sort of shit were pretty clear…always had been.

"How could a little bit of fucking screw things up?" Merle asked from down below,

"Pfft," Daryl shook his head. "Ain't that easy. There'd be all sorts of shit…feelings and all."

"Oh," Merle laughed. "Like ya ain't got feelings now? Damn near left me on the side of the road to come runnin' back to that woman….talk about feelings."

"It wasn't like that." Daryl snapped. They both knew, it had been like that. Exactly like that.

"Hell Darylin, the way I see it, yer as involved as ya can get with that woman already….might as well get yer dick involved too." Merle yawned and closed his eyes. He'd spent a lifetime trying to push his brother towards somethin', anything other than his own self. His own head.

Would be nice, Daryl thought, to be laying somewhere next to Carol, stead of bunking down with Merle. Sure these talks were okay, not as bad as he'd originally thought, but Merle was right….getting a little bit of lovin' now and again would be a hell of a lot better than this.

He kind of knew that all he'd really have to do was let his guard down a bit, just give Carol the slightest indication and she'd move right in. She wanted that…wanted him, he reckoned, wanted the next step. She would come right to him, in his arms, and in his bed. It would be so easy. And he wanted her too. It was just… being alone was easy too…less complicated.

"Yer thinking on it." His brother said from down below, snapping him back to reality.

"I guess." Daryl sighed.

Merle shook his head and laughed softly. "Just don't think on it too long…like I told ya before, ya got a wolf in the hen house now…." Maybe give him just enough of a kick in the ass to get moving', Merle thought.

"Ya lay one finger on her…" Daryl grumbled sleepily, "an you'll be workin with two stumps…."

"Well allrighty then," Merle yawned again, "seems like there's some hope for ya after all…"

"Goodnight jackass." Daryl yawned, cutting him off.

"Goodnight baby brother." Yeah, this prison wasn't so bad. Sure it was grey and dismal and shitty. But he had his little brother back, and a small chance to do right by him. Now all he had to do was get him a woman…..only one left was that sweet little Georgia peach, voice like an angel, and a body to match.

-_thanks for me a line_


	7. Chapter 7

_Hey y'all got another chapter up. Seems everyone likes the Merle and Beth pairing...everyone but Daryl that is ! Once again I tried to drop a little bit of hints about their past. If you're interested in what exactly happened between Merle ,Beth and the baby, read 'unexpected' my new story and find out. I should be updating there ASAP. As always, if you like it...please review !_

**Beth Talk**

"Hey shit head," Daryl said coming in from watch later that night, "ya up?"

"Hmmm?" Merle mumbled, his eyes still closed.

"Heard ya had some fun with Beth today." He continued, as he hung his crossbow off the top bunk, and started toeing off his boots.

"Which one's Beth?" Merle answered, from the bottom bunk.

"Christ sake Merle, Beth's the…. _girl_….. You were messin' with today." He didn't know what to call Beth; he thought as he unbuckled his belt and let his jeans drop. Had no idea how old she was, just that he considered her a kid…had since the farm.

"You mean that baby?" Merle asked, rolling to his back, and folding an arm behind his head. "I helped that bitty little thing ta settle, that's all I did."

"Beth's not the baby you jackass!" Daryl snapped as he pulled his shirt over his head, ignoring the buttons, and tossing it atop his crumpled pants. "Judith's the baby….and Beth's the…_girl_."

Merle rolled to the side, and eyed his brother's pile of clothes on the floor. "Ya know brother," he said matter of factly, "ya might look a little better an' smell a little better if ya weren't pilling yer nasty clothes in a ball on top of yer stanky boots."

Daryl turned to face his brother, in the darkened cell. "Yer kidding right?" he asked.

"No, I aint…." Merle answered nodding towards the pile, "this cell is nasty enough without a pile of yer smelly ass shit right under my nose."

Daryl walked over to his pile, and scooted it across the floor with his foot. "Better?" he asked sarcastically.

"Ya gonna mop the floor with that shit, then put it on again?" Merle asked, raising an eyebrow, "kind of defeats the purpose of the point I was makin…."

"You was always the clean one." Daryl huffed as he hoisted himself up and over, climbing into the top bunk. "Never gave much thought to how I looked before," he mumbled, settling into his bed, "aint gonna start now."

Merle laughed from the bunk below. He _had_ been the clean one, and the military, that had just enforced his lifelong fastidiousness with his appearance. It was almost as if it had been in deference to his upbringing. Every thing they'd ever had was dirty or broken or second hand, Merle had tried to hide the fact, tucking in what was too long and pulling down what was too short. Daryl, he'd just worn things till they fell off.

"So," Daryl called out from the top bunk, "what happened today…were ya givin' Beth a hard time."

Merle smirked, he wished he had given her a _hard_ time, he thought with a smile. "Nah," he answered, "just took the kid from her. Was bawlin her eyes out…and that pretty little thing couldn't' get her settled…had to use the ol' Dixon touch ta calm her down."

"Hmph," Carol, had made it sound like a bit more than that. Hear her telling it, Merle was flirtin' and Beth was getting herself all sorts of worked up. "Just make sure you reserve yer Dixon touch for the baby…and not Beth."

Merle rolled to his side and frowned. "And what in the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Daryl knew he should have just kept his mouth shut. "It means…just don't be flirtin' with Beth or nuthin… yer already on unsteady ground here, that's all."

"Oh," Merle laughed sarcastically, "that's all huh? All I do is help that little darlin' hush that baby down…an I got you ridin' on my ass not a few hours later? Ya gotta be kiddin' me brother."

Daryl shook his head. "Just forget it. Aint nuthin'…..Carol just said…."

"Ohhh," Merle cut him off, "Carol said, damn boy, ya aint even fuckin' her and she got you housebroke like that huh?"

"Fuck you." Daryl grumbled.

"Nah brother fuck you…and Carol too." He snorted.

"Jesus Merle," Daryl mumbled leaning over to hang his head over the side. "Beth's a kid, and yer an old man so…don't be tryin' to charm yerself into her pants…that's all…clear and simple."

"Well all I done was say two words to her," he smiled, "aint my fault she got all flustered."

"See," Daryl snapped, "You knew damn well what you were doin….so stop."

'Come to think of it," Merle added with a snort, "yer woman, was lookin' a little flushed too. Got all pink in the cheeks…was lookin mighty fine….not as good as that little angel mind you, but…."

"Oh shut the hell up!" Daryl cut him off, "she aint my woman, and she wasn't gettin' all…flushed…or nuthin…just annoyed if anything."

"Probably annoyed she picked the wrong brother," he laughed, "that's easy enough to fix."

Daryl fixed his eyes on his brother, even in the dark he could see the smirk…it was almost always there. He always got pissed off, let Merle bait him in everything. Hell forty years of this shit and he still hadn't learned. Quietly he pulled his head back up, punched his pillow twice before settling down on it.

"Stop fuckin' with me." He said under his breath.

"Congratulations Darylina !" Merle rasped, "ya finally caught on…took a bit long…but ya got there all the same."

"And stop…fu…messin' with Beth. She's just a kid for Christ's sake." He growled.

"Well," Merle chuckled, "I know you aint usually too _observant_ with members of the opposite sex, baby brother, but that little Darlin's all grown up. Not that it matters," he added, "I didn't do a damn thing to her and I don't intend to neither….last thing I need around this joint is another target on my back."

Daryl, shut his eyes and pictured Beth, hell she was all grown up. Guess he'd never even noticed. Any spare time he had to be thinking about women was directed at someone else. He had Carol's image in his mind, all day every day, and there wasn't a woman left on this earth that could dislodge it. Not even a pretty young thing like Beth.

"But…" Merle continued in the darkened cell, "I aint gonna be able to help it, if that sweet little darlin' starts getting herself worked up thinking about me. Aint got no control over that pretty little head of hers, and what its thinking."

"Pfft," Daryl smirked, "don't see much chance of that happening', yer an old man….old enough to be her Pops."

"Didn't matter too much today." Merle replied snidely.

"I thought you said ya didn't fucking do nuthin!" Daryl snapped.

"All I did, was take that bitty little noise maker from her, didn't say more than two words to that little darling, and she turned pink as a Georgia peach." He smiled to himself, as he remembered the bright hot flush that had spread around that Angel's cheeks, and the way her body had shuddered when he had brushed against her. "Seemed to me, like she was coming up with her own ideas…didn't need no help from me."

Fuck, Daryl thought, rolling to his side….Beth was like a lamb to the slaughter, if she took up any feelings towards his brother. That man had a way with women when he decided to turn on the charm. Beth was young, and she didn't know much about men like Merle, didn't know that they'd be saying one thing and thinking another and doing a third, all without even breaking a sweat.

And it probably hadn't taken much more than him pickin' up ass kicker, to get Beth's mind changing about him. Damn women get one look at a man holdin' a baby, and they get all smiling and soft lookin', Christ he had to damn near stop holdin' ass kicker himself…couldn't handle the looks he was getting' from Carol. If that little thing hadn't been so darned cute, he wouldn't have laid a hand on her to begin with.

And Merle, Christ, his brother probably was second to Carol when it came to knowing' about babies. Merle had raised Daryl almost all by himself when he was nothing but a boy; done bottles and diapers and burpin' and all that shit, instead of being out playin' with his friends. Daryl _hoped_ Merle hadn't let on to that fact, no quicker route into a woman's pants then to get yourself some pity.

"What'd you do Merle," Daryl asked under his breath, "use some of that 'Dixon charm' on her?"

"Fuck, little brother," Merle laughed out, "been a while since I needed to rely on that…now what was it… little bit of rough, little bit of pity, little bit of red-neck whole, lot of skill…."

"An before ya know it," Daryl finished for him, "ya go in for the kill."

"God damn Daryl hadn't even thought of that in a long, long time." Merle scrubbed a hand over his face, and chuckled as he remembered the little ditty he had made up as teen to try and teach Daryl a way to turn their lowlife upbringing into a selling point when it came to scoring women. Of course the boy had been useless as all hell when it came to that sort of thing; shy and awkward…always mumbling and bumbling with his hands jammed into his pockets, and his sneakers scuffing at the ground. Girls had to damn near drag him into their bedrooms to have their way with him. Once he was in there, he reckoned he did okay, girls always tried to hold on to him anyways, but he dropped them all just as quick as he could.

"Yeah well," Daryl yawned, "don't be usin' it on Beth…I aint kidding with this Merle…her Pops will fuckin shoot you."

Merle rolled to his side and tucked his hand below the pillow; yep that Beth was a pretty little thing. A sweet, sweet Georgia peach in every way…and he thought maybe…just maybe…a little taste of her would be worth getting' shot for.

"I aint plannin' on getting killed anytime soon brother." He rasped. "You sleep tight, an' don't ya worry about me."

Daryl shut his eyes. Fuck, he was gonna go for it…he fucking knew it. "G'night Merle."

-the end

_If ya like it...please review_


	8. Chapter 8

**The Hand**

They were sitting' in the tower. Late watch, two am till six am, it was a bitch of a watch, but they could handle it. Had pulled enough all-nighters in their life, for less important reasons than this. Ever since the attack from the Governor, they'd put two up there, One for the cover and one for the kill. Wasn't often they had the two brother's out together, but this night Carol'd felt a little under the weather and Merle had volunteered. Didn't matter much to him, that he'd be pulling a back to back. He never needed much sleep, and besides better out there with his brother, than inside with those sons of bitches.

"So," Daryl started, with his slow tired drawl. "Ya wanna tell me about yer hand."

Merle snorted, "Nuthin to tell baby brother. Hand's gone…all there is to it."

"Well ya cut the damn thing off yerself," Daryl replied, "aint that somethin?"

"What?" Merle asked with a nod and a smirk, "ya didn't hear nuthin' from them boys when they came back without me? Didn't think ta ask?" he continued.

"Hell, I asked," Daryl snapped back, thinking back on that awful day, remembering what it had been like coming back to camp, lookin' for his brother in that sea of outsiders, and hearing that bullshit story. He'd known from the start that it wasn't gonna be a good idea for Merle to go along with them. Hell, he figured they'd throw some dogs at the most…but leave his ass out there…chained to a roof? "Even got into it with Shane."

"Ahhh," Merle laughed shaking his head lightly, "hated that son of a bitch…but he weren't the one cuffed my ass to a pipe."

Daryl never could understand why Rick had done that, over the past year they'd become as close as brothers themselves, he didn't much consider that the man had done the biggest wrong to his kin. He gathered some spit in his mouth, rolled it around the top of his tongue, then sent it flying. "So what the hell happened up there…_exactly_?"

"Well," Merle ran a hand over his beaten face. "There aint no _exactly_, I was pretty high…so I don't remember nuthin _exactly_. But I guess I got some amped up, started pickin' off geeks from the roof… then that nigga pal of yours…"

Daryl clenched his teeth. He hated when his brother said that, 'specially about someone like T. "T-dog." He said quietly.

"Whatever…yer pal T-dog, best I remember he musta tried to take the gun offa me." He pulled one leg up and rested his bad arm across it; he remembered slamming the butt of his rifle in that man's face again and again. "Next thing I knew I was seein' red….rage overtook me…"

Daryl shrugged and pulled himself to his feet. Yep, he'd been there when his brother got overtook. Most of the time it'd been at a bar, words got tossed around, then came the shovin' then just like that, bang, Merle was gone. A few times it had been against his ol' man. Almost killed him once or twice, if he hadn't been there to stop him, probably would have. Then there had been the one time, just the one time, with him. They never talked about that shit…never.

Daryl cleared his throat, "then…?"

"Then, my arm got yanked up and I was cuffed to a goddamn pipe!" Merle snapped. "Tried to get Blondie to set me free, then the china man…went through pretty much all matter of cussing' and screamin' …done none of it worked. Mother fuckers left me chained up there." Merle leaned his head forward against his arm. That had been one hell of a day, being up on that roof with them, all he'd really been thinking at that point was whose ass he was going to kick first when they set him free.

Fuck, Daryl thought the one thing he'd had running through his head since the day this first happened…if only he had gone along. Instead he'd stayed behind…tracking a damn deer. Lost his brother over a fucking deer.

"I was just…fuck," Merle started and then stopped, he hated this fuckin part. "I was just, shootin' my mouth off, ya know how I am….Next thing, I knew they'd found a way outta the city…everybody panicked…they all just took off." He closed his eyes, and inhaled. "That nigga friend of yours, guess he was the only one didn't wanna leave me…ran up to set me free. Fuckin tripped…and just like the worst fuckin Dixon luck didn't that key just go into the drain." Damn if he hadn't seen that key bounce slow motion and with exact precision into the drain at least a million times in the past year.

"Fuck Merle." Daryl said, leaning over the tower and using the scope of his rifle to scan the woods.

"Yeah, fuck Merle just about covers it…" his brother rasped, pulling himself to his feet. "Rest of the day's just a blur, ya know, the sun cookin' down on me and the fuckin' geeks tryin to push through that door. Just reaching their arms and hissin' and that ol' man's tool box…just outta my fuckin' reach!"

Daryl shook his head, and turned to look at his brother, "Wish I'd fucking come along brother." He said slowly, clenching his teeth together.

Merle whistled soundlessly through his teeth, "Don't I know it. First time us Dixons split since the quarry, and that shit went down." He stopped for a moment, leaned over the rail next to his brother, shoulders touching. "Tried to pull my hand out, tried to pull the pipe off…tried all sorts of everything… finally was only my belt I had to try an reach that old tool box. Fuckin thing had been tipped over…only thing I could reach was the damn saw. Hand saw….aint that a joke?"

Daryl shook his head, "Supposin' the thing wouldn't cut through metal." he said slowly.

"Nah, thing was so dull it wouldn't cut through shit….'cept my arm." Merle leaned over the edge and spit.

"Fuck Merle." Daryl said again, wasn't much else left to say.

Merle nodded and shrugged, he wasn't gonna go into too much detail here. Hurt him just to think about it. "Eventually, more and more Geeks kept comin' up, an' there aint no way, I was gonna be there fuckin supper, so I made a tourniquet outta my belt and did what I had to do. Aint gonna lie, hurt like a son of a bitch…can't believe I even had the strength to get through the goddamn bone."

"Merle…" Daryl started, turnin' to face his brother. He'd never forget findin' his hand up on that roof. Just fucking every ounce of hope he'd had just exploded in his chest. He'd just screamed, screamed and cried and stomped like a fucking kid…a kid who'd just lost his big brother.

"Don't," Merle said turning and reaching his hand up to grab Daryl around the neck…"Don't brother; I know…I know all about it." They'd talked vaguely enough about this, knew the boy'd gone up…found his hand….he knew, though Daryl'd never said, that he probably lost his shit up there. Hell, he was about to lose it now, just hearing about it.

That was the thing about Daryl, he was the sweet one. Before their mom had passed, and before their Pops had turned into a true son of a bitch, Daryl'd still had a chance. Boy'd always had such a way about him, he thought. He looked into his brother's eyes, pulled him close till their foreheads almost touched. Yeah, his Pops belt had wiped that all away. Daryl was hard as nails now, cept when it came to him.

Merle let go of him, and did a quick round of the tower. When things got deep for the Dixons, it was best to pull away. Give themselves a minute to collect their shit, man up to it. When he got back around Daryl was cool, doing a check through the scope. His face set in stone again.

"How long were ya in the city?" Daryl asked without looking away from the scope.

"Ahhh," Merle stretched, "Couple of days I think. Cauterized that shit with an old burner….broke into a pharmacy…got some supplies, a lot of pills." He stopped for a moment and thought back on those days… had any of that shit even happened? He could barely remember a thing. "Fuck brother, between the pain, the blood loss and the drugs…I can't remember much."

Daryl nodded, and swallowed hard. His brother was the toughest son of a bitch he'd ever known, and he'd grown up knowing plenty. These folks here at the prison, they didn't know Merle…only saw one part of him. Thought he was some evil freak….made him out to be akin to the devil. It wasn't like that, he thought, Merle was his brother…hell he'd fucking raised him…fed him, bathed him, all that shit.

Merle was just tough, he weren't no devil. He was a man. A man, who could face any damn thing, anything and come out the other side, yeah, he shot his mouth off and acted like a giant jackass ninety percent of the time…but, he knew… Merle had turned one way, and he'd turned the other… he'd gone all in his head, and Merle, he didn't like to spend a single second of the day in there. Stuff inside his brother's head…was just too rough to spend any time revisiting.

"Then ya landed on Woodberry." He said slowly, in a quiet drawled out whisper.

Merle shrugged, turned to look at him, didn't really wanna tell him he'd crawled his nasty, bleeding infected ass all the way back to the quarry, dug up a set of graves fucking one handed lookin' for him. Didn't wanna tell him about dropping to his knees with the bandage on his stump caked with dirt and mud, screaming and crying, until he basically passed out, when he realized he'd lost his baby brother. Didn't wanna tell him, about, hotwiring a car one handed, starving, and sick, and in pain, dirty as a mother fuck, and barely holdin' on…just desperate to follow, to not be left behind.

Nah couldn't tell Daryl that shit. That weren't how Dixons were made. Ya don't go tellin', your brother how ya fucking fell apart when you lost him. How ya fuckin drove till you was seein' double and the road just melted in front of you. A man like Daryl, he'd take that all in, and put it in his head, and he'd go round and round that an never let it go. It was best he didn't know. Wasn't important, for him to know. Merle knew that he'd gone to fucking hell and back for that boy, and that's really all that mattered.

He looked down, and shook his head. "The Governor's people found me on the side of the road. I was pretty much half dead, cookin' in a broken down car" He muttered, "Covered in my own piss and vomit, stench from my arm kept the walkers at bay I guess."

Daryl winced and nodded.

"Don't know why they bothered bringing' me back. But they did, and they had the medical supplies, and the people… got me cleaned up and healed up…." He stopped for a minute, and hung his arms off the rail, leaning over and looking at a small cluster of geeks that had piled up on the far end of the fence. "Place was fucking heaven, after that shit. I didn't mind any, being that fucker's muscle, not like I haven't done that half my life. And I moved up quick, from thug to right hand man. _Dixon_…I was like a fuckin' general in that town."

Daryl closed his eyes and thought back on that night, when the governor had pitted them one against the other, the cheers he's heard for his brother. "An, ya left all that huh?" he murmured.

Merle laughed softly. "Didn't have much choice." He said. "D'you forget that night?"

"Nah," Daryl shook his head and spit over the side. This prison was a piss poor place in comparison to Woodberry. Didn't take much to see that. "Bet yer regretting' that move huh?"

"Pfft," Merle shook his head. "Woodberry's just a place, like this fucking dump, like that damn quarry… its all the same to me brother, long as we're together."

"Aint talkin' so much about the place," Daryl said, he knew the group couldn't stand Merle's presence around them. His brother had gone from second in command to the shit ya wipe off on the bottom of your heel.

Merle shrugged. "Can't do much about that. Yer tied to this group brother, and I'm tied to you…aint nuthin' I can do but stay."

Merle'd never sacrificed shit for his brother before. Left him behind, when he'd known what kinda shit was gonna go down. He'd just never been ready to give up his own life, his own freedom, his own nuthin' for Daryl. Hell, the way he'd always seen it, he'd already given up plenty. More than most. His whole childhood had been spent takin care of that kid, and keepin in him outta his father's reach. Didn't take more than a look at both their backs to know who'd gotten the short end of that stick.

But when he'd lost him on that rooftop, when he'd seen the only connection he was ever gonna have to his baby brother run off that roof he'd felt like somethin' had been ripped right out of chest. Hell, when that son of a bitch prick, the governor had pulled that hood off Daryl, he'd know right there he'd do anything, anything at all to get him back. He'd have killed that china man, tortured his fuckin woman, done whatever it took.

And now, sittin' on this tower, cold and hungry and dirty, joined up with a group of pricks who though he was the devil….he'd shrug that off as well. He'd made it to the end off the fucking world, and he'd found his brother, and there wasn't a thing he wouldn't do to keep them both together. Not a fucking thing.

"Merle," Daryl started turning to look at him, and Merle could have sworn he didn't look much older than ten, "fuck man…" he started reaching his arm out and clasping his brother's shoulder, "I'm glad I got ya back." He finished pulling Merle in tight for a hug. "I fuckin' missed ya."

Merle closed his eyes and clenched his jaw down tight. He could feel it commin in his eyes, and damn Dixons didn't do that pussy shit. He squeezed his brother hard and tight for a second, before releasing him, "Come on, let go…" he said in a scratchy voice. "Ya don't gotta get all sappy on me fer Christ sake boy."

Daryl pulled apart and looked at him, his hand still clenching onto his shoulder for a moment, before he scrubbed it across his eyes, and nodded. "Right," he mumbled turning away, "I'm gonna watch the south end for a bit" he said as he walked to the opposite side of the tower.

"I'll keep an eye on this end," Merle returned the nod, and raised his scope.

That was as close as they'd come in a long time to letting' each other know exactly what they meant to one another. Dixons didn't do that shit. They weren't meant for love and feelings, they were meant to survive.


End file.
